Chris (TornadoTiki), thanks so much for posting your photos. Hope you and George (TikiHardBop) are having spirited times this weekend in New Orleans at "Tales of the Cocktail." I'm looking forward to our next soiree at the Blowfish Bar, beach included at no extra charge.

I see that Christina (metikigal) posted her reflections of the visit and some photos in her blog under "Micro Road Trip" at...

teaKEY, appreciate your visit here. Julian's mural is indeed magic and must be seen in person to fully appreciate. If you're ever in the Central Florida vicinity, let me know...

Tim (Swanky), we adore that Mai-Kai Mystery Bowl girl; you can see that she's in her own little alcove. Love to have you visit the Blowfish Bar anytime... maybe you can help me deplete my stock of St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram by way of Jasper's Jamaicans.

The original pier was intended to be huge, according to a 1957 newspaper article, excerpted here…

Daytona Beach Morning Journal April 21, 1957

The deteriorating condition of the old pier building drove the town commission to plan and construct a new building in 1962...

The Flagler Tribune March 22, 1962

The article below reveals that the town commission wanted a more contemporary look to the pier, so they chose an A-frame structure like that of a now defunct restaurant named Beyond the Reef down the coast a few miles in Ormond Beach...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal November 4, 1962

I haven’t been able to find any photos or information about the décor and structure of Beyond the Reef Restaurant, formerly located at 1130 Ocean Shore Blvd, Ormond Beach. With a name like that for an early 1960s era restaurant, it’s entirely possible that the pier A-frame was inspired by Poly pop...

Maybe someone on TC has a postcard, matchbook cover or menu for Beyond the Reef Restaurant (but not the Wisconsin establishment of the same name)? It’s interesting that the former owner of the Ormond Beach restaurant, Charles Gittner, came to Florida in 1955 from Wisconsin, according to his 1980 obituary.

David Hettel, a local Ormond Beach artist and surfer, has accepted a commission to create a Polynesian mural at the Blowfish Bar. Dave has been busy lately at nearby Palm Coast, but found a gap in his schedule to begin applying the paint base (completed mural will extend down to just below stairway handrail)...

How long this takes will undoubtedly depend on the local surf conditions, and things don’t look favorable for the Blowfish Bar... a storm is brewing right now out in the Atlantic and forecast to possibly be a hurricane just offshore by this time next week. That means great surf conditions, and probably an AWOL artist. Dave’s business name is Primal Colors and here’s his web site...

Lush (pardon the pun, Marty) music is now playing at the Blowfish Bar since the arrival of The Tikiyaki Orchestra’s Deluxe Getaway Package... Jim Bacchi and fellow orchestra members have set a new high mark for contemporary tiki music with “Aloha, Baby!”